Black box - driver rating
Discussion
I've had to get a black box because my named driver is under 21. They've not even been in the car yet lol!
I've been quite interested in the scoring system. The system is rating me down quite a bit for driving around 6pm and admonishing me for driving late at night when I could be prone to fatigue. It's not even dark!
Driving at 9pm is even worse!
edited to add - just realised it's probably marking me down for driving in rush hour, but doesn't tailor the message accordingly
I might experiment by driving round some of the local accident hotspots at busy times
I've been quite interested in the scoring system. The system is rating me down quite a bit for driving around 6pm and admonishing me for driving late at night when I could be prone to fatigue. It's not even dark!
Driving at 9pm is even worse!
edited to add - just realised it's probably marking me down for driving in rush hour, but doesn't tailor the message accordingly
I might experiment by driving round some of the local accident hotspots at busy times
Edited by oldbanger on Tuesday 14th March 23:20
You're describing the exact reasons I don't have one fitted. At 25, I didn't think I would still be in the 'at risk' category - but my premium is telling me otherwise. A telematics policy would save me an amount of money - but I work shifts, and therefore I quite literally drive at all hours, whether it's 3pm or 3am - so no doubt I would be penalised for simply commuting to my place of work, in accordance with the details of my policy.
Then there's the fact I travel higher-than-average miles, on roads that have higher-than-average accident statistics. One of the main factors for me was that I had no idea how the car is modified in order to fit one (the internet seemed strangely bereft of the right information at the time of my search), And I didn't want any risk to the electrics of even my everyday diseasel.
Having said that, I've been in the annoying position of having to pay an inordinate amount for insurance, so I can see the rationale in fitting one if it were to save a young driver a substantial sum.
Then there's the fact I travel higher-than-average miles, on roads that have higher-than-average accident statistics. One of the main factors for me was that I had no idea how the car is modified in order to fit one (the internet seemed strangely bereft of the right information at the time of my search), And I didn't want any risk to the electrics of even my everyday diseasel.
Having said that, I've been in the annoying position of having to pay an inordinate amount for insurance, so I can see the rationale in fitting one if it were to save a young driver a substantial sum.
A repost, but a couple of years ago I posted this experience about black box drivers when the systems were first brought out. I suspect nothing's changed.
I was driving back home from seeing a few friends, taking it easy on a pleasant Sunday evening. I was approaching a roundabout and saw a car coming up from the left very quick. Anticipated a problem so I covered the brake pedal - sure enough, the young girl driving shot straight out into the roundabout causing me to hit the brakes (I was in a Mk1 MX-5), locking up, and nearly ending up in the oncoming lane. I composed myself and carried on driving, eventually pulling up next to the other car at the next set of lights. I knocked on her window and, given my nearly-binned-it state, gave her a few sharp words about how not to drive and how to avoid killing people. Her baby on board sticker was useful ammunition.
Her response? She started crying and said she was sorry. She didn't want to stop because she had a black box fitted and it would penalise her if she braked too hard, so she decided to to brake and "just carry on driving as it'd be safer".
It's a sad state of affairs when young drivers think it's safer to pull out in front of a f
king car than actually use their brakes. An MX-5 isn't going to do much damage, but I hope my strong verbal makes her think twice before she decides to dive out in front of a 44-tonner and get her baby laminated across the tarmac.
efore anybody decides to take a potshot about me locking up, I was more concerned about the potential infant on board; since I was travelling at around 25mph, by the time I'd made sure I was clear of her car and gauged the rest of my surroundings (tunnel vision manifests itself rapidly), I was near enough stopped.
I was driving back home from seeing a few friends, taking it easy on a pleasant Sunday evening. I was approaching a roundabout and saw a car coming up from the left very quick. Anticipated a problem so I covered the brake pedal - sure enough, the young girl driving shot straight out into the roundabout causing me to hit the brakes (I was in a Mk1 MX-5), locking up, and nearly ending up in the oncoming lane. I composed myself and carried on driving, eventually pulling up next to the other car at the next set of lights. I knocked on her window and, given my nearly-binned-it state, gave her a few sharp words about how not to drive and how to avoid killing people. Her baby on board sticker was useful ammunition.
Her response? She started crying and said she was sorry. She didn't want to stop because she had a black box fitted and it would penalise her if she braked too hard, so she decided to to brake and "just carry on driving as it'd be safer".
It's a sad state of affairs when young drivers think it's safer to pull out in front of a f
king car than actually use their brakes. An MX-5 isn't going to do much damage, but I hope my strong verbal makes her think twice before she decides to dive out in front of a 44-tonner and get her baby laminated across the tarmac.efore anybody decides to take a potshot about me locking up, I was more concerned about the potential infant on board; since I was travelling at around 25mph, by the time I'd made sure I was clear of her car and gauged the rest of my surroundings (tunnel vision manifests itself rapidly), I was near enough stopped.
I have a plug and play unit in my car for 3 months - am aged 25 but it drops the premium considerably. For the 1st few weeks i tried to drive it like a saint to work and got a middling driver rating for heavy breaking, i have no memory of this, and driving short distances late at night. Since then I've used that car for driving to go karting on a Sunday night and (briefly) done 90 on the motorway and braked very heavily to avoid a deer with a death wish and it says the standard of my driving is top notch. I've got no idea how it works. It really seems to punish for driving during rush hour and late at night but if you work 9 - 5.30 that doesn't leave much other time!
In my opinion, although perhaps I'm biased, dash cameras are a much better tool for gauging someone's performance in the event of a claim or similar, especially if fitted with GPS. I have a gripe with black boxes etc, after trialling the (obviously less scientific) Aviva drive app.
As an IAM advanced driver I was led to believe I was a good driver, but the app scored me below average - I'm fairly certain it's because I'm 'too smooth' if that makes sense - approaching open junctions at fair speed knowing I can continue through without slowing too much, etc (although perhaps I'm just a bit mardy and want to blame something...)
Anyway, I've just renewed my insurance with AXA and they give a not-inconsiderable 10% discount on their premiums for having a dashcam fitted, and they don't ask what type (I have a £50 amazon special fitted, not bad in fairness) - which was almost mitigated by the discount alone.
As an IAM advanced driver I was led to believe I was a good driver, but the app scored me below average - I'm fairly certain it's because I'm 'too smooth' if that makes sense - approaching open junctions at fair speed knowing I can continue through without slowing too much, etc (although perhaps I'm just a bit mardy and want to blame something...)
Anyway, I've just renewed my insurance with AXA and they give a not-inconsiderable 10% discount on their premiums for having a dashcam fitted, and they don't ask what type (I have a £50 amazon special fitted, not bad in fairness) - which was almost mitigated by the discount alone.
OGR4M said:
Anyway, I've just renewed my insurance with AXA and they give a not-inconsiderable 10% discount on their premiums for having a dashcam fitted, and they don't ask what type (I have a £50 amazon special fitted, not bad in fairness) - which was almost mitigated by the discount alone.
Never heard of this before. What would happen if you took the policy saying you have one fitted and in the event of a claim they wanted to see the footage but the SD card was full or an electical gremlin meant it wasn't recording? I would hate to think they wouldn't pay out or worse invalidate the policy.
sebhaque said:
Her response? She started crying and said she was sorry. She didn't want to stop because she had a black box fitted and it would penalise her if she braked too hard, so she decided to to brake and "just carry on driving as it'd be safer".
It's a sad state of affairs when young drivers think it's safer to pull out in front of a fking car than actually use their brakes.
That's not a technology problem. It's a dense bIt's a sad state of affairs when young drivers think it's safer to pull out in front of a f
king car than actually use their brakes.d behind the wheel problem.Grunt Futtock said:
sebhaque said:
Her response? She started crying and said she was sorry. She didn't want to stop because she had a black box fitted and it would penalise her if she braked too hard, so she decided to to brake and "just carry on driving as it'd be safer".
It's a sad state of affairs when young drivers think it's safer to pull out in front of a fking car than actually use their brakes.
That's not a technology problem. It's a dense bIt's a sad state of affairs when young drivers think it's safer to pull out in front of a f
king car than actually use their brakes.d behind the wheel problem.If she'd been driving in the manner the black box is meant to encourage (sensibly, iow), she'd have been f
king looking where she was going, and wouldn't have needed to decide whether to anchor on hard or not...Personally I think they are a great idea. My 17 year old daughter has one in her car - this was a condition of her first year's insurance being free (!) and no curfew restrictions or anything like that.
I look at her journey details online every day. If she's scored below 100% we talk about it to understand what was going on so she can learn and improve. She welcomes that.
I look at her journey details online every day. If she's scored below 100% we talk about it to understand what was going on so she can learn and improve. She welcomes that.
AREA said:
Personally I think they are a great idea. My 17 year old daughter has one in her car - this was a condition of her first year's insurance being free (!) and no curfew restrictions or anything like that.
I look at her journey details online every day. If she's scored below 100% we talk about it to understand what was going on so she can learn and improve. She welcomes that.
Similar here although Tesco Black Box don't rate individual days, just the month. For Feb it says:I look at her journey details online every day. If she's scored below 100% we talk about it to understand what was going on so she can learn and improve. She welcomes that.
- Well done! You don't drive much at high-risk times of day. More accidents happen during the evening rush hour (5 - 6pm) and after 10pm (especially between 11pm and 4am). You earn more Bonus Miles by avoiding these times of day.
- Well done! You manage your speed well for the type of road you travel. You earn more Bonus Miles by considering the type of road you are driving on, as well as the legal speed limit. Earn more miles by considering a safe speed for local roads, minor roads and country roads and by not driving at excessive speed on any road.
- Well done! Your driving is smooth, indicating your careful observation of the road. Safe driving depends on anticipation of the road and traffic conditions. Tesco Bank Box Insurance measures how evenly you drive and gives you more Bonus Miles for a smoother drive.
- Well done! Your driving shows you take breaks when necessary. Tiredness slows your responses and makes you more likely to have an accident. Earn Bonus Miles by stopping for a break at least every 2.5 hours.
- You have not done any motorway driving this month. Motorways are statistically safer than other types of road. Therefore, for every journey you take on a motorway, you can earn Bonus Miles.
He earned 80 out of a possible 100 bonus miles last month to go on top of the 8000 annual mileage limit.
Also included this:
The average number of miles awarded to policyholders in February was 55.
21% of policyholders earned the full 100 miles and over 46% of policyholders earned more than 75 miles.
benjijames28 said:
It's only logical that the insurance companies will only seek to use these boxes to justify increasing premiums for perfectly safe drivers.
Rubbish. They've been around for 20 years now, and have consistently been used to offer lower premiums to young drivers. Because young drivers who have a black box fitted have fewer accidents, and the accidents they do have happen at a lower speed so are less serious.So the facts don't back up your tin foil hat nonsense.
I had one of these at 17/18, along with a lot of my friends also having them. My girlfriend now still has one.
They never had a good thing to say about them, understandably, but I had mine with co-op young driver insurance, and regardless of how I drove the box didn't seem to pick up on it and reflect my rating. The only times my ratings went down was when I drove in the middle of the night.
A colleague also had one with co-op and experienced the same thing. It might've changed since, but their black boxes must be st.
They never had a good thing to say about them, understandably, but I had mine with co-op young driver insurance, and regardless of how I drove the box didn't seem to pick up on it and reflect my rating. The only times my ratings went down was when I drove in the middle of the night.
A colleague also had one with co-op and experienced the same thing. It might've changed since, but their black boxes must be s
t.TooMany2cvs said:
So driving well is worth £9.50/mo.
Kind of, only if you plan to go over the original limit, my son is unlikely to do so. The box does have an effect on him, he drives under the speed limit everywhere. Not sure he's twigged that if he drove like a loon it wouldn't actually have a material impact - he's not going to renew next year as he's off to Uni and AFAIK they can't change the premium mid-year based on driving style.My girlfriend has one of these in her car. She is probably the slowest driver in the world, yet her app tells her that she's braking too hard, cornering too fast, accelerating too quickly and is seemingly always driving at an unsafe time of the day - no matter what. I'm slightly baffled by the whole thing, and she's given up monitoring her score.
I don't have a black box fitted. Frankly, when she's in the car with me I get more than enough helpful feedback about every aspect of my driving
I don't have a black box fitted. Frankly, when she's in the car with me I get more than enough helpful feedback about every aspect of my driving
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